After a year-long hiatus, Kim Bivins and Faye Robinson have roused themselves and put the team back together. But the Miracle are Miracle in substance only. The players remain the same, but the name has been changed.

The Miracle will compete in the 2006 AAU season as the Comets Fusion 15U. Faye and Kim brought the team under the Comets umbrella organization after playing the 15U season as the Next Level 15U.

What brought these two coaches back into the game? Both women emphatically announced they would not return for the 2005 season after the Miracle won a fourth straight AAU state title in 2004 and failed to win a tournament bracket game at AAU Nationals in Rochester, MN.

After that season most of the Miracle players dispersed. Maddie Cummings, Erin Knight, Chandler McCabe and Elise Clyburn went to play for Girls Got Game. Jessica Bivins, Ayiesha Vickers, Christeena Bryant and Aislinn Van Buren played for the Next Level. Ally Harrison moved over to play with the Comets Blue 15U. And Jordan Coleman, Andrea Smith and Andrell Smith went to play for the Hollywood Sun Eagles.

Although Coach Bivins and Coach Robinson CLAIMED they were going to take time off and just be parents, what actually happened was a little bit different.

The two coaches were instrumental in building the Next Level 15U. The Next Level was positioned as a vehicle for ex-Miracle players who wanted to continue playing AAU. Robinson was the titular head of the organization. She pulled the administrative strings. She just didn't coach.

But is that so? She hand-picked a coach for the team--James Thomas--and spent innumerable hours planning game strategy, scouting and generally "helping" out. This did not look like a woman who had licked the coaching bug.

When Thomas' man-to-man, in-your-face defensive strategy began to cause some issues, the Next Level disbanded. But not before the team had some successes. The Next Level's main rival was the Comets Blue 15U. The two teams battled tooth and nail all season, with the Blue team winning a series of close matchups. The Blue team finally dispatched the Next Level in the semi-finals at AAU 15U D2 Nationals.

Surprisingly, Kim and Faye took issue with the coaching of the team. They felt the Next Level might have won more close games by using strategies more in line with the players capabilities. In a good-natured but semi-serious blow up after AAU D2 Nationals, Thomas was dethroned.

Something had to be done with the existing players, though. Immediately after the conclusion of the 2005 AAU season, Robinson began plotting a return for the team. She approached the Comets braintrust about the possibility of forming a new team in the 15U ranks. The Comets agreed. The Next Level changed their name and began recruiting players.

Initially, the team attempted to merge the existing Next Level players with the top Leesburg players and several Central Florida based Hollywood Sun Eagles. That idea didn't get off the ground. The main issue was, who was going to be the coach? Robinson spent a few months cycling thru a few local names. Marcus Niblack. Kenny Kallina. A few others.

But we think she knew all along who the coaches were going to be.

The Comets Fusion 15U consists of ex-Miracle players Andrea Smith, Andrell Smith, Jessica Bivins, Ayiesha Vickers, Christeena Bryant and Erin Knight. The team has picked up former DEBO players Kourtney Berry and Tamara Newell. They've added Katie Gordon from the Winning Ways Lady Wildcats. And they've added 6'3" center Lauren Thomas, formerly of the Comets Red team.

As with the Miracle, this is a diverse and talented team. Their biggest asset is size in the post. Lauren Thomas and Ayiesha Vickers should dominate Florida teams. The Smith twins are the top 15U guard tandem in the state. Knight, Gordon and Berry provide three-point range. Bivins is a defensive specialist. And Bryant is a tweener guard/forward whose quick hands will give Fusion opponents fits.

As a Comets team, the Fusion will travel with the Red and Blue teams on the Nike circuit. The teams will diverge for AAU and come back together for Nike Nationals.

SG will update this site for the Fusion and provide some content. The Fusion will be tracked in Milquetoast. Smackdown Gazette will be opened to the general public.

Welcome back, Miracle!!!